


Photographs

by Iverna



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-20 01:41:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20667206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iverna/pseuds/Iverna
Summary: Snow can’t help feeling like her daughter’s pirate boyfriend is keeping his distance. It’s a good thing she knows a thing or two about reaching out to strays.





	Photographs

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a conversation with @thesschesthair about photos and feelings.

Snow has rarely found herself alone with Killian Jones. He’s become a permanent fixture in her life, but it’s rarely just the two of them. She wondered about that—whether it’s some notion of propriety that makes him keep his distance, or even dislike.

It’s frustrating. He’s her daughter’s boyfriend. He’s part of the family, and yet she always feels like he’s not _quite_ there. Like a stubborn puzzle piece that refuses to fit, like the loose floorboard in her bedroom that always sticks up on one end if you push the other end down.

But she thinks she’s figured it out. Maybe he’s just doing what she would do. David might not want to admit it, but they’re a little alike, after all.

And she’s always had a soft spot for strays.

So today, she didn’t give him a chance to excuse himself and go. Emma and David are over by the stairs, in the middle of a debate about how to assemble the flat-pack shelf that David brought home for Luke’s nursery. Not a job for a hook, as Killian himself said, and she knew he was about to leave. So she handed him a cup of tea, grabbed Luke, and now they’re sitting in the living area, having a drink and a chat while Luke plays with blocks on the rug.

A peaceful family afternoon—aside maybe from the exasperated sounds coming from across the loft, but really, that’s part of the ambience. It wouldn’t be her family without that.

It’s the perfect time to do what she’s been meaning to do for a while.

“I’ve got something for you,” she tells Killian, turning and stretching so she can reach the cabinet beside the couch and retrieve the book. It’s quite big and thick, bound in dark leather.

He hesitates as she holds it out to him, eyes searching her face. “What is this?”

Snow smiles and nudges the book towards him, encouraging him to take it. “Open it and see.”

He takes the book from her almost gingerly, and she’s not sure whether he’s suspicious, or merely hesitant. Her time as a bandit certainly taught her to be cautious of anyone offering gifts. So did growing up at court, if she’s honest.

He opens it carefully, and stares down at the first page.

_Memories._

And below it, a photograph of him, Emma, Henry, and David sitting in a booth in Granny’s, laughing about something.

She picked the word on purpose. If she’s honest, it’s the reason why she’s become so obsessed with photography, wanting to capture everything. To remember it. Forgetting the people you love is a terrible thing.

She knows that Killian probably doesn’t know what a photo album is. They didn’t have anything of the sort back in the Enchanted Forest, after all. But he seems to get the idea as he turns the page, and is met with more photos.

He’s not in all of them. Snow has noticed that he tends to avoid photos, especially family photos. At first, she thought it was just the pirate thing, not wanting to be involved. No ties. No commitments.

By now, she has a strong suspicion that he just doesn’t want to interfere. Doesn’t think he quite belongs in there, with Emma and Henry and everyone else.

“This is...” He’s still staring at the first page. The photo there is technically of David—she’d wanted that shot of his profile during one of the Wicked Witch meetings, and only realised afterwards that Emma and Killian are sitting together in the background, apparently discussing strategy. She’s talking and he’s listening, utterly focused on her, and she’s just as intent on him.

“It’s a photo album,” she says. “I put together the ones I thought you’d like.”

Slowly, almost reverently, he turns the page. She watches him swallow. There’s Emma, hiding a smile as Killian grins at someone off-camera after saying something inappropriate. And Killian, eyes soft as he watches Emma ruffle Henry’s hair. Background shots, both of them; Snow’s attention was on Ruby and David, respectively, but the moment happening in the background caught her attention.

There are many moments like that--in the background, and then in the foreground, once Snow realised what was happening. Emma giving Killian a fondly-exasperated look. Killian looking over at Emma from halfway across the room. And then, Emma laughing as she reaches for an onion ring that Killian has swiped from her plate and is holding out of reach; Killian with his arm around a smiling Emma, leaning in to say something to her; Killian and Emma walking along the street ahead of Snow, hands entwined.

It tells the story of two people falling in love, and she knows that Killian gets it, because he’s gone very still, lips pressed together as he looks through the book.

It isn’t all Emma and Killian. There’s one she _loves_ of David mock-glowering as Killian grins at him. Another one of David and Killian standing in the forest together, discussing something. One of her and Killian in Granny’s that Emma took. One of Killian holding Luke, Emma leaning over to wiggle her fingers in front of the baby’s face, making him laugh.

Snow watches Killian swallow and blink. All together, the photos tell a story, and it’s one of a pirate finding a place in this unorthodox family of theirs. She thinks that she knows how he feels. There are days when she can’t believe her luck, either.

“Oh, that one,” she says as he looks down at a photo of Emma. It’s just Emma, her eyes bright and her smile radiant as she looks up off-camera. “That’s one of my favourites. That was just after the curse broke, when you were teasing Henry about dressing weird.”

Killian’s lips twitch. “Aye, I remember.”

“I like to call it ‘what do you mean, I always smile like this, I’m not falling in love right now, nope, no way’.”

He laughs at that, surprised and delighted, and looks up at her. His eyes are bright in a rather different way than Emma’s in the photo. “Thank you. This is... very thoughtful. I didn’t realise you’d taken so many.”

She grins, pleased with herself. “That’s because I gave up asking you guys to pose. David gets that terrible stilted smile and Emma pulls faces.”

He laughs again. “Aye.”

She gets to her feet, pretending not to notice the uncharacteristic shortness of words, or the apparent lump in his throat, or the suspicious gleam in his eyes. “Go ahead and look through it. If you can keep an eye on Luke, I think I’d better go save that shelf from Emma and David before they build it completely backwards.”

“Of course.”

She pats his shoulder as she walks by, feeling like the piece has finally, finally, slotted into place.

A three-hundred-year-old pirate might not have been what she had in mind as a son-in-law, but all things considered, she thinks he fits in perfectly well.


End file.
